Insominia, Strikes, No Electricity, Homelessness and Zombies

My new group of short stories, From Lost to the River, writes itself. Metro is on strike because ALL gov workers had to take a 5% cut because the gov is broke. No one likes that, but atleast they have jobs when 20% here don´t. So what do they do? They crush all business for two days by having an ILLEGAL full strike. They are required by law to maintain minimal service. That was Monday. Today and yesterday were a nightmare. I´ve had to cancel 3 classes already. The buses suck. And their website crashed today. Nice to know they are prepared. So i´m just gonna walk the 4km home at 9pm. It can´t take more than 1.5 hours, which is how long it took me to get here by the train that does run and bus.

Then the fact that Laura´s landlord didn´t pay the electric bill and we have no power, and won´t til Friday. The shower i so cold you think your face will rip as it it stretches across your
cranium in the cold. And as for my balls, when they haven´t been that small since i was eight.

None of this was helped by the fact that i couldn´t sleep the night before.

At least Spain advanced in the Copa Mundal.

And then there´s those goddamned Zombies. I couldn´t get to the dentist. Cabs were all full. Couldn´t get to work (if i could find a cab, to and fro, would eat all the money i got paid) so i cleaned and then read World war Z, about zombies. I didn´t know why the power was out yet. And i thought, no Metro, no power - Zombies!!!! It´s the end of the World! i called Luara to warn her of this undead menace, and that´s when she explained that the land lord sucked. I was duly relieved.

HUELGA!

There has been a Metro Stike in Madrid, meaning i had to cancel all classes yesterday. And because Laura's landlord did not pay utilities, we have no power. I am at a locutorio. Add to that the 95F heat and the Zombies (more on that later) it´s been a Putada. I now go to walk 4km to class. Just a quick note to let you know i am alive (and i am recharging my cell phone here as we speak). Why does everything run on electricity! Except me!

Sleeps with Fishes

Raining. It always rains at night these days. Climate change. I saw a mosquito in my room! I have seen about a dozen in the 3+ years i have lived in Madrid. At least it cools things off. It's in the 90's everyday. I read today that Tuna ( for sushi ) is in danger of extinction, due to over fishing and the fact that the gulf oil spill has threatened one of only two breeding grounds. We need to depend more on aqua farming to keep up supply and demand. And the FDA is poised to okay genetically modified Salmon, which matures at a faster rate. Eek! The Mets have a series in Puerto Rico. Add that to the USA loss to Ghana and i can only surmise that the Apocalypse is nigh.

Bummer.

Other than that everything's swell.

Minute 92

It was a tense crowd of USA supporters at the bar yesterday. The USA had let several golden opportunities slip away. And then, in the first minute of extra time, Landon Donovan buries the ball in the back of the Algerian net. The crowd at the bar exploded. Jumping, hugging, yelling. So the USA is through. Bring on Ghana, a very tough team, and very possibly the last African team standing by the time the knockout phase begins.

Busy with work. I'll still have some classes the next 2 weeks, which is very good. And i leave for the States two weeks from Tuesday.

It finally got hot here. Horrible. 93F yesterday. Same today. Ugh.

Melting..... melting!

-The Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz

Through the Juicer

Well, Spain won today.

And i saw the DVD of the gig today. I enjoyed it. Sound isn't great, but you get the idea. And we played well. Good energy, and you can see we're having fun. Tomorrow 5 hours of class, then record in the studio room 20:00 - 23:00.. It'll be a live recording. Then the band will take a 2 1/2 month hiatus. Some people call it summer. I call it going home. None of the band live as far away as i do. I could use a wee break. Pete and i will write over the summer and stay in touch through email.


So i'll have a DVD and a CD for you all when i see you!

Otherwise, things go forward.

Can't sleep. Mind racing. Must wake up in 4 1/2 hours. Okay. Take a breath. Breathe in, breathe out.

Run Rabbit run Dig that hole in the sun -Pink Floyd

Horrendous Call

SCREAMING: Michael Bradley, one of the players held on the play, begged the referee Koman Coulibaly for an explanation. (NY Times)

Koman Coulibaly of Mali now tops the USA's Most Wanted list of terrorists. It was a terrible call (a phantom foul) that denied the US the winning third goal that would have put them atop of Group C with one game to go. Coulibaly never explained who the foul was on. He either ignored players or did not speak English well enough. How can any International Ref not know English, the world language? FIFA said he may be suspended from any further matches, but the damage is done. This guy had a chip on his shoulder about the US from the beginning. No less than three Slovenian's can be seen holding three USA players in the box on the same play, which would be a penalty kick. And a Slovenian was only given a yellow card earlier in the game for what easily should have been red.

This guy is a jackass. And FIFA is moronic for putting him in the World Cup. I want to see action. I am not calling on President Obama to bomb Mali, but to only bomb Coulibaly's house. Then we'll call it
even.

In some much needed good news, Janet has graduated from school and is an x-ray technician. Congrats!

And i am moved out of the hell hole for good. My drums are at Laura's. I am at Laura's. Rest of my stuff is at Maria's. Hooray!

I am making a call to Jack Ruby's daughter to see if she'll "handle" the Coulibaly situation.

The truth is an illusion. Reality is an illusion. Death is an illusion. More or less, we have no idea what the hell is going on. And anyone who tells you they they do, is just disillusioned.
-El Dude, October 18, 1996, Addressing the UN Security Council

Una Disastre

In the worst disaster to befall the country since the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the heavily favored Spanish Team fell to Switzerland, 1-0. Yes, Switzerland. Those neutral, yodeling bankers. Spain no longer controls its own destiny. The streets of Madrid were eerily quiet. The papers will call them chokers tomorrow and national morale will plummet. And oh yes, the country is also bankrupt. And if Spain does not win the group and finishes 2nd, they likely play Brazil. It's the first time the Swiss have defeated Spain in 19 tries. Spain had 25 shots on goal but the Swiss defense was iron. They played well, but just couldn't score. It's easily the biggest upset of the World Cup so far.

without a country....

....Or perchance i have too many.

Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake -Paul Simon

Fact - I have rented and lived in 7 different places over the past 3 1/2 years.

Your life sucks
-Ancient Buddhist Saying

Things to do

-Shower.
- Go to old house and clean and pack up. Cat Woman's house is ready to store my stuff. We watched Italy salvage a tie.
- eat something
- Class at 6
- Meet Volker's daughter Michelle and her boyfriend for the Brazil game at half eight. She is my former neighbor and is in from Germany. She was a little girl of 14 when I left, now she is 18 or 19. I said "are you coming with school?" She said "I'm on vacation with my boyfriend." I said "D'oh!"
-Final extraction from old flat - Friday. The tale is an ugly story which i will relate when things calm down, meaning i may never be able to tell you!
-Thank you to American Laura, Cat Woman, and Zowie for saving me this June. I fucking hate Spring. Come on summer!
-I will be 'homeless' for the next 3 months, i told Cat Woman. She said - "Como Siempre (Like always). At least you are used to it."

And if you're giving in, then you're giving up
-The Smashing Pumpkins

You dress funny and smell of eels

Thank you Robert Green for botching that shower. It was a "howler" as the English call it. Just a bonehead play. The bar PEOR was packed. We got there a few hours early to get seats. It was great fun. Losta Limeys, lots of Yanks. Fun fun fun. 1-1 draw. Not bad. The Group may come down to goal differential. Slovenia beat Algeria (in the same Group) on an equally bonehead goal.

Only one class manana. Then down to Cat Woman's to clear out space. Living here with Laura and Shiroc has been great. And i am mending. Feeling better.Watching the World Cup. My first one in Europe. Maybe my last.

Everything passes. Nobody gets anything for keeps. And that's how we've got to live.
Haruki Murakami

Contact

Tamara, Fernando, me

Rain. It rains until "the 40th of May" as they say here. It had been very dry, but now we are rainy and cool. Won't get past 63F today. What the what? But cool is nice.

World Cup begins today. Yeah!

Tired. Very very tired. Feeling a bit better, but tired. I'm on amoxicilina, so that is helping a lot because my chest/nose got infected. Life is a contact sport.

16 years ago Susan and i got married. Wow. And almost four years ago we separated. Life is a contact sport. But things are good.i teach, i play drums, i have some very good friends from Spain, USA, France, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and who the hell knows where else from. For Sue too i think. I'll see her and Kid A on tour this summer. And Frippy and i will road trip to CT for the 4th year in a row. Me and the boy, cranking SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND and cruising the endless expanse of I95. It's our own version of A SPACE ODYSSEY. Good times.

Our memories remind us
Maybe road life ain't so bad
-Rush

Classes are winding down. Luckily i picked up a few more because my two doctor students returned from the USA. Menchu actually came to the gig with her boyfriend. They had a blast.

I may move in with my friend Zowie in July, so i don't have to move in with Cat Woman (Maria). It would be fun but the three pusses might kill me in that small flat. They are all shedding and even she can't breathe right now. Plus the only Cat Woman i ever really wanted to live with was Julie Newmar.

I do remember one thing.
It took hours and hours but..
By the time I was done with it
I was so involved
I didn't know what to think.
I carried it around with me for days and days..
Playing little games
Like not looking at it for a whole day
And then.. looking at it.
To see if I still liked it.

.....I did!!!!

-King Crimson

Nomad

Laura's House


i am home, at Laura's. Whew. It's nice to wake up being able to breathe. But my room is really small and the tiny bed has iron work. I didn't know where i was. Am i incarcerated? i thought. Well, it's clean, so i'm not in a Jamaican prison. i've seen those up close. And then i recalled where i was. And then i slept some more, no clase til noon.

You know me i like to dream a lot
Of this and that and what is not
And finally i figured out what was what
It was the power of the heart

-Peter Gabriel

Suck'em if you got'em

Going to Laura's! Don, like an old horse's defective left testicle, had them clean the mold today, which almost killed me. I told him to wait til i left, but he did not and i was unawares. So they came at 8:30am and i woke up wheezy. Asshole. In retribution, i will not be paying any rent for June.

Don't fuck with me cuz i'd just as soon kill ya as tolerate your idiotic, epsilon minus, semi-moron bullshit

-El Dude

i also may or may not have peed in the ice cube tray, let a scorpion loose in his room (North African - deadly) and/or sent his computer a virus that will erase all music on his computer except Abba and Journey on his computer next year on my birthday (he has both of these bands, i assure ye).

Suck my balls

-Traditional Catholic

Summer Tour 2010

Tour Dates Confirmed from Jul 13 to August 31, Summer 2010!

Jul 13 - Ansonia CT

Jul 23 - Jones Beach NY

Aug 4-8 - Vermont

It could be clay and it could be sand
Could be desert
Could be a tract of arable land
Could be a house, could be a corner shop
Could be a cabin by a bend in the river
Could be something your old man handed down
Could be something you built on your own
Everybody got something he calls home

-Roger Waters

Escape from Quintana

Laura's landlord pushed back a bit on me moving in for June, for no reason. I mean, it is three bedrooms. But it will all work out (i hope!). She says he'll have to give in. She's quite convincing. I mean, she is a lawyer. And I am Italian from North Jersey. A formidable pair.

We gotta get out of this place
if it's the last thing we ever do
-The Animals

Lots of good comments still rolling on from the gig. It was great fun. There's nothing like being comfortable behind the kit and feeling like you're in total control.

Imagine if life was like that?

No. I can't. Must be nice.

:) :) :)

My plate is a bit full right now.

Gig

From Lost to the River at Hangar 19, Madrid, last night.

Bday was great. Gig was great. People really dug it. Over 100 people. I felt really comfortable and had a blast. But it was hot! I was sweating like Idi Amin. They sang happy birthday to me before the encores. It was all quite nice.

Just wanted to let you all know i was alive. Thanks for all the wishes. I received well wishes from Europe, North America and Australia. That's just ridiculous.

It was a great 2 nights. I saw Summer in Raincoats on Friday and Juan and Lee really appreciated it and came to our gig the next night. They thought we rocked. Sometimes you have to remember where you've been to appreciate where you are. All who attended thought they were pretty average. But....their biggest applause was when they played "Shake your wet Umbrella," The only song they still play that i wrote the words to. People came up to me singing. It was quite fun. Lee and Juan also said they really wanted to gig with us sometime in the Fall, but that Bo is dead set against it. HA! It's been a year and he still can't let it go. Wow. I am speechless, sans words.

"Do you always do what Bo says?" I wanted to ask. But i was on my best behavior. Seriously.

Our friend Pedro recorded it on video, so we'll have that soon.

So i am old, but i still rock.

One could do worse than be a swinger of birches

-Robert Frost

And it looks like i am going to move in with Laura this week, just til the end of June. Our house is moldy which has really become bad with the heat. And the washing machine and sink backed up again. Then to Maria's in July. I guess it's live with an ex-lover month.

Some day my life will be normal. It just has to be.

Today in History....

Cuz it's my birthday
my b-b-b-birthday!
-Eric Cartman

June 5, 1968- I am born. On the same day, Robert F, Kennedy is fatally shot by Sirhan Sirhan. June 5, 1933- FDR takes the US off the gold standard. June 5, 1967 - First day of the Six Day War. Israel defeats Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. By war's end, Israel had gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The results of which fuck up the geopolitics of the region to this day. June 5, 2004- My old nemesis, Ronald Reagan dies after an all-too-long battle with Alzheimer's disease. 5th June 1944 : Following a number of crushing defeats in Europe the Allies prepare for the D-DAY landing when more than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast. June 5, 1981: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report announcing that cases of rare pneumonia were found among five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California which was later identified as the Aids Virus.

You know what, June 5th kind of sucks. With the exception of me being born and Reagan dying, very little good happened. Screw this. I'm going back to bed. Wake me up for the gig!

Look so good should you when 800 years you reach, um?
-Yoda, Return of the Jedi

On the AIr

Radio waves

he hears radio waves

inside his head

-Roger Waters

Hot. It'll go up to 88 today. But i think i'm finally adjusting. Throat dry. Drink lotsa water. Today is a holiday, Corpus Christi, like the grammar school Mel and i went to and Mum taught at all those years ago.

I had a rash on my face and I thought i was allergic to something here in our hellhole flat, but it turned out to be Rosacea. A skin condition that was also like acne.

translated from Spanglish;

"I develop it now? I never had it before."

"It happens when you're old" (that literally how he said it).

"Great. Just another thing that sucks about getting old."

But not to worry. He said it's an easy fix and gave me some stuff to take. At least i know what it is now. And skin stuff runs in the fambly. At least we have strong hearts!

The last few birthdays have been rough. But not to worry. They keep coming! This is the important thing.

So

-make lunch

-scour

-Jam with Pete. Just we two. He needs to break in some new strings.

-Go to Hangar 19 for a beer and check the place out.

-Home

-Sleep

-10:30am manana go to la dentista to have them glue in a crown that keeps falling out and i'm sick of using denture stuff. Easy fix. Teeth falling out too! How old am i?

- Oh yeah. 800.

-2 classes

-Chill and prepare for all the lugging of equipment on Saturday afternoon. Gig. Bday party. It'll be fun.

We were on Alberto's radio show, The Show With No Name, yesterday. It was really a hoot. He gave us a copy of it.

invisible airwaves on timeless wavelength

bearing a gift beyond price, almost free

-Rush

giveaway

Here's the art for the CD we're giving away on the radio manana. Simple - it took me five minutes.

That'll do pig. That'll Do.
-The Farmer - Babe

El Infierno

Goodbye pants, good-bye long sleeve shirts. See you in October!

33C today. That's 91F. Too goddamned hot. I guess it is June. Gemini power... activate!

Rock bottom, hotter than hell....
-Kiss

At least the women are hardly wearing anything now. That's a bonus.

Tomorrow we go on the radio. Woo hoo!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx